Pope consecrates priests of the world to Immaculate Heart of Mary

Fatima, Portugal, May 12, 2010 / 16:16 pm

After praying Vespers this evening in Fatima, Pope Benedict XVIconsecrated the priests of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.In order to consecrate the more than 400,000 men, he prayed thefollowing prayer while adoring the Blessed Sacrament, and accompaniedby priests, religious and consecrated persons gathered at the Church ofHoly Trinity.

Consecration Prayer

ImmaculateMother, in this place of grace, called together by the love of your SonJesus the Eternal High Priest, we, sons in the Son and his priests,consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart, in order to carry outfaithfully the Father’s Will.  We are mindful that, without Jesus, wecan do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5) and that only through him, with himand in him, will we be instruments of salvation for the world.

Brideof the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the inestimable gift oftransformation in Christ. Through the same power of the Spirit thatovershadowed you, making you the Mother of the Saviour, help us tobring Christ your Son to birth in ourselves too. May the Church be thusrenewed by priests who are holy, priests transfigured by the grace ofhim who makes all things new.

Mother of Mercy, it was your SonJesus who called us to become like him: light of the world and salt ofthe earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14). Help us, through your powerfulintercession, never to fall short of this sublime vocation, nor to giveway to our selfishness, to the allurements of the world and to thewiles of the Evil One. Preserve us with your purity, guard us with yourhumility and enfold us with your maternal love that is reflected in somany souls consecrated to you, who have become for us true spiritualmothers.

Mother of the Church, we priests want to be pastors whodo not feed themselves but rather give themselves to God for theirbrethren, finding their happiness in this. Not only with words, butwith our lives, we want to repeat humbly, day after day, Our "here Iam". Guided by you, we want to be Apostles of Divine Mercy, glad tocelebrate every day the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar and to offer tothose who request it the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocateand Mediatrix of grace, you who are fully immersed in the one universalmediation of Christ, invoke upon us, from God, a heart completelyrenewed that loves God with all its strength and serves mankind as youdid. Repeat to the Lord your efficacious word: "They have no wine" (Jn2:3), so that the Father and the Son will send upon us a new outpouringof the Holy Spirit.

Full of wonder and gratitude at yourcontinuing presence in our midst, in the name of all priests I too wantto cry out: "Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord shouldcome to me?" (Lk 1:43).

Our Mother for all time, do not tire of"visiting us", consoling us, sustaining us. Come to our aid and deliverus from every danger that threatens us. With this act of entrustmentand consecration, we wish to welcome you more deeply, more radically,for ever and totally into our human and priestly lives.

Let yourpresence cause new blooms to burst forth in the desert of ourloneliness, let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness, let itrestore calm after the tempest, so that all mankind shall see thesalvation of the Lord, who has the name and the face of Jesus, who isreflected in our hearts, for ever united to yours!
Amen!